Walking Tall (A tale of two Richards)
If you love inspiring fun stories the you will love the book Walking Tall. It is the tale of the journey of two boys from conception to manhood. They were given the exact same names by their parents for different reason and their lives were destine to continually cross.
(Here is an excerpt from the book)
On the first morning of high school I sat in one of the empty front
seats. This was because ever since I was a baby my parents told me to always be
first, be a leader not a follower, and sit in the front. When you are in the
front you are seen more easily but when you are at the back there are too many
persons to be seen before you are seen.
I was shocked that first morning of
high school when my form teacher was marking the attendance register and heard
another person answer to the name Richard Williams. I became even more confused
when the other Richard Williams said his middle name was Alexander.
This was against everything that I had
grown up believing. The Lord had made only one of me so how could there be
another person with the name Richard Alexander Williams.
I took one look at that other Richard
Williams and immediately decided that the other Richard was an imposter and he
did not belong in high school among the elite and brilliant. Our form teacher
had said that she had only one Richard Williams on the register so therefore I must
be the one so how could this other person have gotten into the school and he
certainly did not look as wealthy as the rest of us.
I was glad when I heard that this other
Richard was called Anancy. I knew that Anancy was a spider but then I had a
feeling of apprehension, spiders were crafty and had a way to be found in
places that they should not be even in kings palaces. This I remembered from reading
my Bible. Instinctively I knew that if there was one student in the class that
would better me it would be this Anancy and I took an immediate dislike to the
boy.
I had hoped secretly that this other
Richard was an impostor and that he would not be in the school so I was disappointed
when later in the day our form teacher
confirmed that both of us belonged in the class. I decided then that there was
no way I would be playing second fiddle to this Anancy or anyone else in the
class.
In my heart I was glad when in the middle
of the term the test result revealed that Anancy was at the bottom of the
class. From what I had learnt about Anancy from his friends I determined that
Anancy did not belong in the class in the company of his betters. This Anancy certainly did not dress and behave
as if he had much.
I got jealous however when I discovered
that Anancy was well liked and was amicable enough to get along with most
students in the class. Anancy I noted gave no indication that he knew how to do
anything well. He listened as I and others talked about travel abroad, visiting
theaters and cinemas, music, swimming and various games but he never offered a
comment.
I never saw Anancy at any of the clubs
after school. I was surprised to later learn that many students had chores
assigned at home and so had to head home immediately after school. Even
stranger to me was the fact that some students had smaller brothers and sisters
that were their responsibility until their parents got home from work.
Every evening, during dinner time, I had
to give a report about my day at school to my parents. That first evening of
high school I reported to my parents that there was in my class another boy
with the exact same name as I had. My
parents reassured me that though it was a rare occurrence sometimes this
happened. I wanted to know if there was any possibility that I could be related
to the other Richard but my parents immediately told me that such a possibility
did not exist.
It did not take long for this Anancy and
me to cross each other’s path. I was
very proud of being a Christian and not only wanted everyone in the class to
know it but I also wanted everyone student in the class to become Christians.
The first activity each day at school was
class devotions. I actively led in this activity but other students needed to
be given the chance to participitate. One morning Anancy was asked to lead the class
devotions. This he asked that someone else do because he did not know what to
do. When asked if he had never been to church on a Sunday morning he responded
no. This was a shock to the whole class that there was actually someone alive
that had never been to church.
Some Christian students met during lunch
break at school for fellowship. I attended and it was known that I knew my Bible
better than even students that were older than me and were in higher grades at
school. We met one day each week. The week following the devotion incident Anancy
was invited to attend by one of the girls in our class. I did not like the idea
of Anancy sitting beside her. That week’s activity was Bible quiz. Anancy must
have known the answers to the quiz questions. He was surprised as everyone
watched in awe as I gave the correct answers.
Then a question was asked and no one knew
the answer. Anancy whispered the answer to the girl that had invited him and
although she was not sure she called out the answer. It soon became a competition
between her and I with Anancy providing her with the answers. It did not take
long for everyone to know who was supplying her with the answers. In the end
she overtook me and she went away the winner.
Many students inquired about Anancy
and were shocked to learn that he had never been to church. That same female student was assigned to find
out the source of this Anancy’s knowledge of the Bible. She was surprised to
learn that because Anancy found its instructions good he read it regularly.
I was sour and declared that I had lost
because I was competing against two persons.
At the end of the term when test
results were compared I was disappointed that although I had studied hard I did
not do as well as I had hoped. I was even more distressed when I learnt that
Anancy had improved in his
marks and he had even bettered me in some subjects.
Seeing Anancy punished for not completing
his home work made me feel good. My home work time was scheduled as well as my
study time and I never missed these. Although our teacher was stern he liked me.
I had not fully understood when Anancy
tried to explain to the teacher that if he missed his bus he would have
problems getting home. I had never ridden on a bus and had no idea what it was
like. I had thought everyone lived near the school. The morning when I heard
the rumor that a student had missed his bus I immediately knew it was Anancy
and I felt good. When I heard through whisperings that it was the principal
that had taken Anancy home I knew someone would be in trouble. Rumor also had
it that a report had been made to the police.
I too was baffled when I heard two students say that Anancy live so far from
school that he probably left his house at midnight to catch the bus and
probably did not get home until 2:00am the morning.
At the end of the school year I was
really disappointed that I had not bettered Anancy in every subject area. There
was no comfort for me being in a school where the talk was that I was among the
top students in the class. I wanted to be the best and there were others that
were out performing me. These students that had attended public schools and not
the most expensive private school like me were outperforming me in high school.
I wondered if my parents would agree to a
change of school for the following year.
© Prince w Bradford
Download or buy your copy of the book Available in Print and Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Prince-W.-Bradford/e/B00GM5OKR6
No comments:
Post a Comment